John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate on the supplementary budget. I do so both as leader of the Green Party and as Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. It has been an exceptionally tough six months for the Irish people since the October budget. We are faced with the biggest economic challenges in the State's history just as the world is experiencing the worst recession in 70 years. We have seen job losses increase on a daily basis and our tax revenues reduce dramatically. As a result, we are relying far too much on borrowed money to run public services in the current year. This is not sustainable.

It is the inescapable duty of the Government to provide clear leadership and to ensure that the necessary corrective action is taken in this supplementary budget. We must put the public finances on a sound footing in the interest of long-term economic recovery. The Government is resolute that the actions and measures announced by the Minister for Finance are essential and proportionate. This is a very tough budget but it is a fair one. In this regard, I particularly welcome the decision to maintain social welfare payments at current rates. In preparing this budget, the Government's priorities are to ensure economic and environmental sustainability. We are promoting economic competitiveness so that we will be able to respond quickly when the global situation improves. Above all else, we are protecting the most vulnerable in our society to the greatest extent possible.

In my own Department, the effect of the measures taken in this supplementary budget is quite marked. The expenditure level now determined for 2009 presents us with significant challenges in managing scarce resources in the most effective manner. I am confident, however, that we have examined every expenditure line critically. We will ensure that the overall investment of some €2.6 billion is put to the best possible use for the public in the programmes and services provided by my Department, by local government and by our partner agencies.

Our overall budget of €2.6 billion cannot be dismissed as insignificant. It will help deliver essential services throughout the State. Capital spending of more than €1.6 billion will sustain thousands of jobs while also delivering vital infrastructure. We are continuing to invest in environmental protection in regard to water, waste management and natural and built heritage. A provision of €500 million is provided for water services infrastructure which, even in these adverse economic times, represents an increase of 2% on our high 2008 outturn. This reflects the Government's ongoing commitment to infrastructural and environmental investment in water services. We will continue to preserve and protect our water resources as a key priority in environmental policy by vigorously pursuing our programme to meet European Union standards for drinking water and waste water treatment.

Investment will also enhance competitiveness by providing the infrastructure necessary for sustainable economic development. We will continue to sustain the priority we attach to housing, particularly against the backdrop of increasing social housing need. Within our overall housing expenditure, we will continue to maintain a strong focus on the needs of the most vulnerable, including the homeless. I will return to and provide greater details on these issues later.

The Green Party and our partners in Government believe that the smart economy is the green economy and that green economy cannot prosper until such time as green thinking is fully integrated into the social partnership model. Today, I wish to announce that the commitment given in the programme for government for the introduction into partnership of an environmental and sustainability pillar is being acted upon. Henceforth, environmental NGOs will participate fully in social partnership. That no such pillar existed during the boom years was a grave oversight, one which worked to the detriment of the economy as a whole. Social partnership has, for the most part, worked well and will continue to work if it is remodelled in the longer term interests of our society and economy.

The environmental pillar will ensure that economic decisions have at their very core the concept of sustainability. If sustainability is not worked into economic decision-making, one has to question its longer term validity. Had the environmental sector been involved in social partnership, we could have avoided the worst excesses of the Celtic tiger in terms of planning and transport. Having the Green Party in Government will undoubtedly mean many of these issues will be addressed and that those difficulties can be ameliorated. The Green Party involvement will result in these long-term structural changes. It is precisely this type of structural change that will be our legacy.

Having an environmental pillar as part of social partnership will also mean that no one will question the wisdom and efficacy of a carbon levy. The Minister for Finance has given an unequivocal commitment that this carbon levy will be a major feature of the next budget. It is reasonable to say that the majority of Green Party taxation ideas will be implemented during the lifetime of this Government, going far beyond anything negotiated and contained in the programme for government.

I stated during my Leader's speech at the Green Party convention last month that we would emerge from this crisis with a fairer and more just society, with a leaner, greener and smarter economy. The Green Party has long argued that our tax model needed to be radically restructured. It is worth recalling, when listening to the jibes from the Opposition benches, that these parties were trying to outdo each other during the last election with their tax reduction plans. I do not include in that Sinn Féin as it at least maintained some level of consistency in that regard. The two main Opposition parties now claim to have answers to the crisis. Even a cursory examination of the ideas put forward by them show they lack real substance.

Fine Gael, in supporting the bank guarantee scheme last October, displayed an admirable sense of responsibility. Sadly, this was lacking in the Labour Party which opted for cheap politics.

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